1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of biologically active peptides, particularly the peptide known as epidermal growth factor. More specifically, the present invention relates to a surprisingly potent cyclic peptide similar in sequence to a fragment of epidermal growth factor between amino acid residues 32 and 48. This particular fragment includes the end of the B loop and the entire C loop characteristic of the native form of the EGF peptide. The present invention also relates to the field of peptide synthesis, as a method for synthesizing the EGF analog is described.
Additionally, the present invention relates to methods of using the described synthetic peptides to promote wound healing, to treat peptic ulcer disease and to inhibit growth of tumors. The present invention also relates to methods of treating particular tumors which overproduce epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-r), so as to inhibit tumor growth. The described novel peptides are capable of serving antagonistic and agonistic roles in biological systems, and therefore are used to promote a variety of biological effects. This invention also relates to methods of using the described peptides to promote wound healing, especially in the treatment of burn wounds and peptic ulcer disease. In that the novel peptides inhibit the growth of tumors, the present invention also relates to methods of cancer therapy.